January 10, 2014 – San Diego’s Balboa Avenue is well known for slow-moving traffic on weekday afternoons, with lanes at a standstill heading west as well as east. One driver, apparently extremely inebriated, elected to avoid the Friday evening traffic delays and head eastbound using the sidewalk instead of traffic lanes, according to on-scene witnesses.
The plan worked well until the male driver encountered two vehicles pulled over to the side of the road, one with a flat tire and the second belonging to a Good Samaritan who was assisting the owner of the vehicle with the flat. The suspect, who was driving an SUV, scraped his way past the vehicles, inflicting heavy damage to all the vehicles but luckily missing the people changing the tire. Managing to get a few more yards east, the man then lost control of his vehicle, which headed toward the steep south side canyon, only to be stopped and held in place by a chain link fence, which prevented access to the steep slope from the road.
Not content with cheating death once, the man exited his vehicle; with the parties from the damaged vehicles in pursuit, he crossed all four lanes of Balboa Avenue, and dove into an equally deep canyon on the north side of Balboa. San Diego Police Department ground units, including K-9 officers, began converging on the scene and set up a perimeter as they observed the subject stumbling around the lower portions of the canyon. SDPD’s helicopter, ABLE, arrived and circled overhead.
The steep canyon slopes, thick with ice plant, sage brush and an abundant amount of cactus species, proved too much for the intoxicated man as he tried to climb his way out, only to be continually sent back to his starting point by slipping, falling or rolling back downhill. Sporting an ever-increasing number of cuts, scrapes, contusions and a collection of cactus stickers, he continued to lose his footing as officers watched from a number of locations on the high banks of the canyon. Finally, two officers moved into the canyon, prompting the man to attempt an escape by climbing up the opposite canyon slope. With evasion as a prime motivator, he began to make good progress, and, at one point, climbed right through a large clump of cactus.
Arriving at the upper reaches of the canyon, the suspect caught sight of a third officer waiting for him. With the three officers in close proximity, and more arriving from the street, the man appeared to become increasingly agitated. At that point he was taken into custody with the aid of a Taser. After several minutes, in handcuffs, he walked under his own power to a waiting patrol car with assistance from the SDPD officers. Because he’d sustained numerous injuries, officers called for medical assistance. San Diego Fire-Rescue Engine 16 and Medic 66 arrived; the suspect was evaluated and transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital.
